Doug Heffernan

Doug was born on February 9, 1965, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, while his mother Janet (acted by Jenny O'Hara) and father Joe (acted by Dakin Matthews) were attending a friend's wedding there. His parents had told him that he had been born in New York City and only discovered the truth as an adult in the episode "Dog Shelter." He has one sister, a physical education teacher named Stephanie, played by Ricki Lake.

Doug's father owned a small hardware store in Queens, and his mother was a homemaker. References in several episodes indicate that the Heffernan home was a Catholic one, although Doug seems to have strayed from this after moving out. He lived with his parents until he was 27, when he moved into Richie's apartment. It also appears that Doug's father, Joe, wanted Doug to assume control over the hardware store when he came of age, but Doug showed little interest in this venture.

He was an overweight child and was even sent to "fat camp" by his parents. Doug's weight battle was frequently a subject of contention between himself and his wife, with Carrie encouraging him to eat healthier, but Doug was steadfast in his enjoyment of fried foods and snacks. Carrie's domineering personality over the more easygoing Doug was another frequent subject matter, with Doug secretly defying her demands (over clothing and the type of cologne, for example).

Doug is an avid sports fan, supporting the New York Mets, New York Jets, New York Knicks, and New York Rangers. Doug would propose to Carrie at a Jets game. One year for Christmas, when he was given a Miami Dolphins Christmas ornament, Doug openly didn't like the gift because both the Jets and Dolphins played in the AFC East. (Despite the Jets-Patriots rivalry becoming more intense during the show's run than the Dolphins-Jets rivalry, it was never mentioned on the show; however, the Monday Night Miracle did take place during the show's third season.) Doug's love for the Mets is reflective of James in real life; he named his daughter Shea Joelle after the then-home of the Mets, Shea Stadium.[1]

Doug attended St. Gregory's High School in Queens, where he befriended Spence Olchin; he also went to school with his cousin Danny. Doug played high school football as a St. Gregory's Commodore and was a star player and starting fullback. He was all-county in football during his junior and senior years. Frequent references to this era show that Doug was very popular in school, and because of this, he thinks of high school as the best years of his life. Unlike other popular jocks who usually bully outsiders and geeks, Doug never liked that in high school, which is why he was favored. In the episode "Hi, School," Doug says to Carrie during an argument, "Oh, I see what's going on; you're mad because I rocked in high school and you didn't." Carrie was an unpleasant and rebellious teenager in high school, while Doug would often avoid school-work and desire to be liked in high school. After graduation, he went on to junior college (Nassau Community College, located on Long Island), but dropped out after eight days without any clear plan of action. He tried out for the Nassau County Rebels, a semi-professional football team, but ultimately quit because of politic-related issues.

He later acquired a job as a bouncer at a bar. Around this time, his friend Richie Ianucchi, a firefighter for the FDNY, introduced him to his future wife, Carrie Spooner. While dating Carrie, Doug inadvertently landed his final and longest-standing job as a truck driver for the fictional International Parcel Service (IPS).

Doug's trademark phrase is "Shutty!" as a means of telling people to "shut up."

Early in the series, it was stated that Doug and Carrie had known each other in junior high. That story was rewritten; the new plot said that Doug and his friend Richie met Carrie at a club, then went on a double date that did not go well until the end. Doug first met Carrie's father, Arthur (Jerry Stiller), at a Thanksgiving dinner that went wrong. Doug was nearly scared away by Arthur, who disapproved of the relationship, but later in this episode, he and Carrie declare their love for one another.

Doug and Carrie got engaged at a Jets game and married in 1995, before the start of the series. Initially, they lived with Arthur while searching for a house. After finding a house, Arthur's wife died, his home burned down, and he was forced to move in with them.

In Season 6, the loving couple decides to renew their vows to show their love and affection for one another. The idea came to be during a romantic dinner, where Doug became inspired and courageously declared his love to his wife, Carrie. Carrie is touched by her husband's kindness and suggests to Doug that they should renew their vows. As the days roll on, the couple's initial enthusiasm for renewing their vows quickly dwindles. They soon find that planning the wedding is becoming a hassle and much more troublesome than they had initially expected. Through mutual agreement, they call off the wedding, and the couple calls their friends and relatives to let them know of the cancellation; however, to their surprise, the reaction of the relatives and friends is unexpected. Doug's mother worries about something wrong with her son's marriage. Doug and Carrie's frustrations grow as rumours of their marriage complications spread. They decide that the ceremony will go ahead, and despite further difficulties (finding a chimp to serve as Doug's best man proves tough), Doug and Carrie renew their wedding vows.

At the end of the series, Doug and Carrie adopt a baby girl from China. On the same day, Carrie realises that she is pregnant.

Doug's best friend is fellow IPS driver Deacon Palmer (Victor Williams). He is married to Kelly (Merrin Dungey), Doug's wife's best friend. His other friends include his lifelong buddy, subway booth worker Spence Olchin (Patton Oswalt), a firefighter named Richie Ianucchi (Larry Romano), cousin Danny (Gary Valentine), dog walker Holly (Nicole Sullivan), and next-door neighbour and bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno (played by himself). Another friend of Doug's, Ray Barone (Ray Romano), also appears as a guest on several episodes of the show; likewise, he has also appeared on several episodes of Romano's show, Everybody Loves Raymond, as well as other New York-based CBS shows such as Cosby and Becker.

In 2016, Doug resurfaced in several television spots for a new CBS sitcom starring Kevin James called Kevin Can Wait. In these ads, he meets up with the man who played him, and they have a short banter about the upcoming sitcom. In one ad, he suggests portraying a next-door neighbour to James' new character. In another, while watching television and bringing up the fact that King of Queens is currently in reruns, he tempts James (who is about to eat a plate of carrot sticks) with a large bucket of fried chicken, which the actor eats.